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National Signing Day 2016: USC football recruiting class

By Gabe Encinas

Nov 30, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of Howard Jones Field, the practice facility for the Southern California Trojans football program. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of Howard Jones Field, the practice facility for the Southern California Trojans football program. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Taking a look at the USC recruiting class and who Clay Helton was able to bring in for his first full year as the Trojans head coach.

USC is vying for the top spot in the Pac-12 recruiting ranks and has plenty of space for more signees. Still holding a top 20 class, the Trojans could use a couple of more commitments.

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They’ve been fairly successful recruiting in California, but this year it seems like UCLA won the in-state recruiting battle. Although, USC was able to snag a couple of teammates hailing from some strong football schools including Junipero Serra and Bishop Amat.

USC already has six of their commits signed and on campus for the spring semester, including the crown jewel of the class with Oluwole Betiku out of Serra High School (Gardena, CA). He serves as the lone five-star of the class, ranked No. 16 overall among and No. 1 among all defensive ends. Checking in at 6-3 250-pounds, as a weak-side defensive end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Betiku turn out to be a Devon Kennard type pass rusher.

There’s no more Cody Kessler for the Trojans, so whoever the next signal caller for the Trojans will be will have plenty of weapons within this class, to go along with Juju Smith-Schuster. Whether it’s redshirt junior Max Browne or redshirt freshman Sam Darnold, their job will be easier with these incoming receivers, who are likely to see the field early.

USC brings in four top-30 receivers in this class, two of which are among the early enrollees. Michael Pittman, a 6-4 210lb target ranked 8th among all receivers and Josh Imatorbhebhe, a 6-2 205-pound target ranked No. 29 in his position, are the two already on campus.

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But their top-ranked receiver, Tyler Vaughns, No. 3 among receivers and No. 34 overall, will figure to be their go-to guy when Smith-Schuster isn’t able to get open. Throw in Trevon Sidney, the No. 26 receiver in the nation, and this offense will have firepower all across the field.

The big additions on National Signing Day included Jamel Cook who flipped from Florida State, Vavae Malepeai who flipped from Oregon and Joshua Fatu, Connor Murphy and E.J. Price. The headliner of the day was five-star cornerback Jack Jones who was the last to announce but could end up being the best player in three-four years.

Will USC be able to turn all this potential into production and Pac-12 titles or will it be more of the same as we’ve seen in recent years with USC failing to win titles with all this talent on the roster?

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